


the holiday

by KoreRosemarinus



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Based on The Holiday (2006), Ben and Rose are siblings, Ben is a lawyer (because OF COURSE he is), CWs/TWs tagged by chapter (if applicable), Casual mention of alcohol, Christmas, F/M, Fluffy but minor angst, GingerRose is prominent but Reylo is main focus, Holidays, Hux is former military, Implied Sexual Content, Multi, Rey is a Software Engineer, Rose and Paige are adopted, Rose is a Movie Producer, Star Wars Modern AU, Strangers to Lovers, Trust Issues, mention of war/combat death, mentions of binge drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoreRosemarinus/pseuds/KoreRosemarinus
Summary: For the 2020 Reylo Hallmark Collection:After a heartbreaking work event and relationship pitfalls, Rey Kanata and Rose Tico agree to swap houses for the week of Christmas to get away for a little holiday. Little do they know that love finds a way and that things we need tend to appear in the most unusual way - especially when its Christmas time.A holiday Reylo/GingerRose AU based on The Holiday (2006)
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Rose Tico, Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 34
Kudos: 90
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp, Reylo Christmas Hallmark AU Collection





	1. conception

**Author's Note:**

> I know its cheating (because this isn't _technically_ a Hallmark movie buuuuuut it is a Christmas themed romcom story so why not?
> 
> Thank you to Breya for organizing this collection and making it all possible (and letting me self-indulge with my writing). 
> 
> Any CWs/TWs will be tagged by each individual chapter, as well as reference end notes for SW characters or London/Los Angeles specific references. 
> 
> Last of all, I know there are many incarnations of The Holiday AUs in cyberspace and I'm very honored that you are reading mine <3 Hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season wherever you are and that you are staying safe and sane with your loved ones.

* * *

**Chapter 1: conception**

Oxford Street during December never failed to disappoint. The lights on the street seemed to bring cheer to even the most avaricious and cold-hearted of folks during the holiday season. It reminded people that the New Year was fast approaching and gave them hope for a new start. Perhaps it was this that added romance in the air, or the colder temperatures just naturally happened to foster cuddling and the relevant physical activities that followed. 

The ruminations on these holiday feelings briefly filled Rey Kanata’s consciousness as she dodged couples and tourists alike on her way to Soho from Oxford Street Station. Her reasonable heels tapped the pavement on her way to Grosvenor House for her company holiday party. She was filled with anxious purpose as she nearly stomped her way through the crowds: her company Resistance Systems was going to announce all of the new promotions for the new fiscal year. Rey, having nearly signed off all her personal time for her job, was being considered for the new Technical Lead position. It was between her and that absolute prat Poe Dameron, the other Senior Software Engineer, who could barely code to save his life but had the upper hand of being the on-and-off boyfriend of their Founder and CEO Amilyn Holdo. But while he had this advantage, Rey knew Holdo admired her work and took particular notice of her ambition, and made sure to take Rey under her wing personally.

So, at the end of the day, she had nearly an equal chance of getting the promotion as Poe, plus she made sure to put in overtime the last few weekends as a show of commitment to her work. 

She managed to get to the hotel and find the right ballroom. She stripped her Primark trench coat to reveal the sensible black wrap dress she had hidden underneath. Rey, having come from less-than-desirable financial means, learned quickly after entering the workforce that all you needed to do to look professional is to buy a few items but to make sure that they were black, because black goes with everything. 

However, she couldn’t fight her innate desire to implement some color per her adopted mother Maz, so she pulled out her absurd Christmas tree earrings and put them in before strutting in with some facade of corporate confidence. Or at least as much as one could when waiting anxiously for the moment they put months of grueling effort into. Rey took some sips of moderately priced champagne, had a couple words with her co-workers, who all assured her that she was a shoe-in for the position and that it was only a matter of time before it was made official. 

The moment came as Holdo tapped her flute of champagne to grab everyone’s attention. 

“First off,” she said in her effortlessly commanding tone, “I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to you all for your hard work this last quarter. Thanks to the wonderful direction of our Engineering team, we were able to launch Project NINKA to our clients ahead of schedule.”

Everyone erupted in applause and imbibed cheers, with a few patting Rey on the back which she couldn’t help but smile at. She was not used to positive feedback on her work, so she took it in when she did. 

“And so, the moment you all have been waiting for,” Holdo said with a smile, “We will be announcing the new position fills for the next year, starting with the Engineering department.”

Rey held her breath in pure unadulterated anticipation.

“Our new Technical Lead position was a difficult one to fill, as we have the wonderful position of having so many qualified team members who fit the role. It was a hard decision to make, but I have the distinct pleasure of announcing-”

She swallowed down her anxiety and felt excitement coursing through her veins. 

“-Poe Dameron as the new Technical Lead for Resistance Systems.”

In that moment, Rey wondered if everyone else could hear her heart shattering on the beautiful tile floor of the ballroom. She wasn’t one to cry in public, being the proud Brit that she was, but she couldn’t help the tear falling down her cheek. Her mind was completely blank as she tried to look away from Poe shaking Holdo’s hand for a little too long. 

She finally took a deep breath and left the building surrounded by a melange of pitiful looks and exuberant cheers. It made her so sick that she nearly puked on the sidewalk after she grabbed her coat. 

She walked back towards the tube station in a deep haze, not noticing or registering the hubbub of Londoners either making their way home or drunkenly causing the typical Friday night havoc. When she made it back to St. Erso, her tiny village in Cambridgeshire, she started to feel less numb and much more justifiably furious. She felt a fury so deep within her she thought she might genuinely combust.

She lit her fireplace, pulled out her last bottle of sub-par Italian knockoff wine and started chugging glasses of the stuff. She opened her lap and checked her notifications on Facebook in some vain attempt to pull herself out of her woozy reality. She looked and saw there was an update in the House Swap group her co-worker Finn recommended. He had gone on a holiday to the Maldives with his girlfriend Kaydel through this house swapping group and Rey had always wanted to take a holiday, especially considering how many vacation days she had accumulated. 

A crazy idea popped into her head and she looked at the notification. It was for someone looking to swap their Los Angeles residence for a last minute getaway for Christmas. They didn’t care where in the world the other person was but they just needed to get away quickly. 

Rey grinned. After all of this, all she wanted to do was get away from everything that reminded her of work, which happened to be nearly everything in her life at that moment. She had no partner to speak of, no family nearby, and a few friends here and there. She was closest to her best friend and neighbor, Armitage Hux, but Maz, her only family, and her new husband Chewie moved to Mallorca not too long ago so Rey was free from any familial obligation during the holiday. 

So, she took a chance. She messaged the other group member, and they agreed to switch houses. After a short email to work saying she’d be out for a couple weeks, and an impromptu ticket booking on British Airways, she got up and began to pack. 

She wondered if Los Angeles was truly as warm and glamorous as it looked in movies.

\----

Rose Tico cursed the day she ever decided to move to Los Angeles. In the haze of her Shania Twain and Pinot Grigio inspired dance number in her expansive living room, she uttered nonstop curses about the incessant presence of palm trees, fancy cars and beautiful women that broke her heart like it was their day job. 

It was this litany of displeasure, brought on by the recent balcony-based argument and subsequent breakup with her boyfriend Ezra over the latter’s bout of infidelity, that convinced Rose to put her house up for the House Swap Facebook group her coworker Larma recommended. Her wife Wrobie surprised her with a spontaneous trip to Ireland using the group and could not recommend it enough to Rose in between showing her shots of their beautiful vacation. 

_ How cute for them _ , Rose sardonically mused. 

Her family was unorthodox in that they were not ones to celebrate Christmas together, due to the crazy schedules and the logistical distances of all her family members, and instead made more of an effort to celebrate New Years together, so she didn’t have any obligations to keep her in this plastic town that haunted her. She was in love with Ezra and was actually going to ask him to live with her before she found out she was not the only woman in his life. All she wanted to do was escape any memory of her in this town before she sobbed her literal heart out.

She turned up the music louder and kept on dancing with her half-empty bottle of wine until she heard two pings from her laptop. She saw one notification from her brother in Santa Monica asking her if she was alright in response to her drunken hodgepodge of messages and memes. The second one was from her Facebook and she rushed to check it. 

Someone had responded to her message and wanted to swap houses with her. Rose sighed, finally something was going right, and began to chat with this Rey Kanata to coordinate details. Rose truly did not care where she went: luckily her producer’s salary allowed for a flexible traveling budget. However, she had a feeling that the English countryside would be just what she needed.

She squealed once everything was settled and her ticket to Heathrow was booked. She proceeded to hastily pack her bag with the warmest clothes she could find (after chugging a bottle of water), grabbed her passport, and she was out the door.

She wondered if England looked as charming as it does in the movies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Star Wars References**  
> [(Project) NINKA](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ninka)  
> [(St. Jyn) Erso](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jyn_Erso)  
> [Larma D'Acy](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Larma_D'Acy)  
> [Wrobie Tyce](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wrobie_Tyce)  
> [Ezra Bridger](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ezra_Bridger)  
> 
> 
> **City References**  
> [Grosvenor House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosvenor_House_Hotel)  
> [Primark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primark)


	2. development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As she went to rinse the glasses, she realized she was smiling like a lunatic thinking about him.
> 
> Shit, she was fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes!
> 
> First off: **HOLY SHITSNACKS** thank you all for the wonderful response and support for Chapter 1! I love you all and am sorry for being late responding to comments but I do see them, enjoy them, and will respond to them soon <3
> 
> Second: I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas/Holiday season this year safely with your loved ones in any way/shape/form that entailed. Its a crazy time to be alive and I hope that you all were able to have a wonderful holiday despite that. 
> 
> Thirdly: I plan (triple underline **PLAN** as a note to myself) to finish this fic by the New Year but I work a job that is at the peak of craziness right now so that timeline may be fluid and I will not make any hard promises at this very moment. 
> 
> Fourthly: thank you to my amazing beta @storiesofreylo for the input <3 I wouldn't be who I am without you. 
> 
> Enjoy my Christmas gift to you, chapter 2!

* * *

**Chapter 2: development**

When her Uber pulled up to Rose’s house, Rey thought that she might actually be having a jet-lag induced hallucination. The house was beyond the definition of huge and took up nearly an entire street block. Her jaw was still on the floor when the driver Klaud asked if she needed help with her luggage as a subtle ploy to get her out of the car. 

After she got her luggage and he drove away, Rey looked up to the gate still in shock of the size of the house. She knew Americans were ostentatious by nature but she clearly had no clue what she signed up for when she decided to go on her holiday. 

She opened the gate to the house and nearly tripped in her sensible Superga sneakers taking inventory of all the succulents in the front garden. One would have thought she had never seen so much green in her life, even coming from the lush English countryside. She made it to the end of the path and to the front door, taking care to pull the key from under the mat, and stepped into the marble floored atrium of the house. 

“Woah.”

She looked to the side table with a dish for her key and placed the spare key in it and dropped her luggage. She saw a small note peeking out from under the dish and pulled it out. 

_ Enjoy your vacation! Feel free to make yourself at home and to get yourself acquainted with everything. By the way, the wine cellar is free game. _

_ Xoxo Rose _

She took everything in, from the crystal chandelier to the beautiful wood accented furniture, and began to wander through the different rooms with her excited screeches getting louder and louder as she saw a new amenity. She hit the climax of her excitement when she found the wine cellar and proceeded to do a happy dance.

All in all, Rey was shocked at the splendor of everything. Rose did mention she did some work in advertising and movies but Rey didn’t think that brought in this much money. Not that she was complaining, though: she was excited to begin her relaxing holiday away from the drama of work in London. 

After cleaning off the post-flight debris in the multi-head shower in the master bedroom, she dressed in her favorite leggings and black Adidas hoodie and then made her way down to the TV room. A few hours after that, she was about a glass deep into the 2016 Napa Chardonnay she plucked from the cellar dancing to Ariana Grande on the surround sound system when a loud knock sounded from the front door. She turned down the music and rushed to open the door, lest they find out she was actually enjoying herself. 

“Coming!” she shouted in some hope the person or persons outside could hear her. 

She opened the door to a man mid-diatribe.

“Rose I swear to God you have to answer your texts before you give me and Mom a heart attack-”

Rey cleared her throat when she regarded the broad expanse of the man, fully dressed in a crisp suit and oxfords, and tried not to stare for too long at his handsome features. When the man recognized the fact that she was not in fact Rose, he flushed and immediately stopped, staring straight at her face. 

“Uhm, hi?” she said. 

The man composed himself, maybe to pretend he wasn’t ranting for the last few minutes. 

“Is Rose around?” he asked.

“Oh, no, sorry, she’s in the UK,” she replied, “We swapped houses for the week.”

She might as well have told him Canada declared war if the shock and appall on his face was any indication. 

“She did what?!”

Rey cringed at his tone.

“Yeah we swapped our houses, you know, like on that Facebook group?”

He groaned, “Yeah, my secretary mentioned those sort of weird groups. God, what was she thinking?”

She started to get a little offended on Rose’s behalf. 

“Excuse me?”

“You know, going to a weird stranger’s house without telling me? That’s so unsafe, who would do something like that?”

Rey’s eyebrows rose towards her hairline. The man flustered more when he realized what he said.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Oh?” she remarked, a sardonic grin appearing on her lips, “How did you mean it then?”

“You know, like, you should tell someone where you’re going when you leave suddenly.”

“Ah,” Rey replied, waiting for the man to dig himself a bigger hole for himself, “Of course, wouldn’t want to open your house to strangers on the internet, right?”

The man groaned again, frustrated with himself. “I just wouldn’t do it that’s all.”

“Mhmmmm.”

After a brief pause, Rey followed with, “And you are?”

The stranger held out his hand. “Ben Solo, I’m Rose’s brother.”

Rey’s impression of him softened - the concern seemed somewhat justified now. 

She took his hand (God, was it really that huge?) and shook. “Rey Kanata.”

“Nice to meet you. How long will you be staying here?”

“Just until Boxing Day.”

Ben brow creased in confusion, “‘Til when?”

Rey rolled her eyes and muttered, “Americans. Sorry, The 26th.”

He smirked at her annoyance. “Great, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself. Anyways, have a wonderful vacation.”

He turned back and walked down towards the gate. Rey sighed and decided to take a small leap of courage, considering the circumstances. 

She was on holiday after all.

“Wait! Ben!”

He turned around on the path with an unusually hopeful glance.

“Yeah?”

Rey extended her arm towards the entryway.

“Would you like a glass?”

Ben gave a small smile in return, so small you would miss it if you weren’t looking as hard as Rey was at his beautiful lips. 

“I would love to.”

He passed Rey and entered into the house when she began to wonder what the hell she was doing.

\----

“So, Ben,” Rey asked as she poured him a glass of the Pinot Noir as they sat on the couch, “What is it that you do?”

He took a sip, smacking his lips, and replied, “I’m an entertainment lawyer.”

“Exciting, must be fun to work with all those celebrities?”

Ben nearly choked on his wine, “Oh no, it’s awful. It’s mostly just looking at contracts over and over again, and no one is ever happy.”

Rey chuckled, “Sounds like a dream.”

He fixed his gaze on her soft face resting on the palm of her hand, anchored by her knee positioned perfectly in a butterfly pose. He would be lying if he didn’t find her gorgeous, at the very least, but something about her eyes screamed out a small sadness hidden deep within.

“What do you do?” he asked, wanting to learn more about her. 

Rey gave a small half-hearted smile. “I’m a software engineer.” 

“And why does a software engineer decide to fly across the Atlantic to live in a stranger’s house during the holidays?”

She took a pause before responding. “I wanted to get away, you know. Well, just wanted to get away from work really.”

“Was it getting stressful?” Ben replied, straightening up to focus more on her while she spoke with a broken sadness. 

“No,” she followed, tears starting to form at the edges of her eyelashes, “I just got passed over for a promotion that I worked really hard for.”

Ben said nothing, offering a silent invitation for her to continue. 

“The promotion went to this guy, Poe, and he’s a terrible engineer. He never shows up on time, does the bare minimum, and completely does not care about the work we do. But he’s dating the CEO so obviously it went to him, even though I worked overtime every weekend for the last two months and the CEO told me I had potential, and-”

Rey’s tears started to flow more freely now, soaking her cheeks in their wake. Ben, uncharacteristically, put his glass down onto the table and took hers from her hand. Awkwardly, he reached out and pulled her into a hug, where she began to sob more earnestly. He patted her back starchily at first but then decided to rub her back a little bit more delicately. 

More adoringly, one might add. 

He still said nothing, a disgrace to the name Ben Solo, a man who was always on top of quips and snarky responses for every occasion, and who failed to come up with one to console a sobbing woman. 

His father would be ashamed of him. 

Rey after calming down slightly broke free from his grasp.

“Sorry,” she muttered, wiping the tears from his face, “I don’t usually cry in strangers’ arms like that.”

Ben felt a sparkle in his chest at her words and reached to help her dry her tears. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I would be upset, too.”

Rey smiled and he knew in that instant that all sanity and/or reason left his mind regarding her. He may have met her literally an hour ago but all at once he knew he might actually be ruined for the sight of this woman broken and destroyed yet so luminous all at once. 

Without even thinking, he reached out and pushed a rogue strand of hair back behind her ear. She sucked in her breath, looking up at him like she was being seen for the first time. 

“Sorry,” he confessed with a crooked smile, looking straight back at her. They held each other’s gazes for a brief moment, their faces moving in closer and closer.

Ben cleared his throat, pulling them both out of a reverie.

“Right.”

“Uhm.”

They both chuckled at the awkwardness of the moment.

“I better head,” Ben said.

“You’re not driving, are you?” Rey responded with concern. 

“Oh, no, I’ll grab an Uber.”

Rey nodded, “Okay, good. Uhm, let me walk you out.”

She got up and Ben took a pause to admire her before getting up himself and moving towards the door. Rey opened the door for him and he turned towards her before stepping out.

“I’ll come tomorrow for the car, if that’s no problem?” Ben asked.

Rey giggled. “It’s not like it’s my house but yeah I’ll be here.”

“Cool, yeah,” Ben said, taking a small look over her face again. She was beyond gorgeous when she smiled, he noticed. 

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” 

He nodded with a smirk, half turning towards the sidewalk. “Yeah, tomorrow.”

“‘Til then, Ben.”

“See you,” he said, waving bye as he walked out of the gate.

When he called his Uber and waited, his mind was held hostage by the vision of her soft hazel eyes staring back at him.

And of her lips parted oh so slightly, like they were made for him to kiss.

He screamed into his hands and recovered just in time for when his driver pulled up. 

Yep, he was gone for her. 

\----

As she closed the door after Ben’s departure, Rey finally noticed the rapid beat of her heart thumping in her chest. It was so loud she thought it echoed throughout the empty house. She never felt this way before, but found it simultaneously nauseating and thrilling. 

As she went to rinse the glasses, she realized she was smiling like a lunatic thinking about him.

Shit, she was fucked.

\----

Rose had arrived in St. Erso’s after a very long and expensive taxi ride from Heathrow. Her Business class flight was comfortable and speedious once the melatonin gummies kicked in, which ended up being a blessing when she realized a fussy baby was seated two rows behind her. This ended up being the greatest stroke of luck she encountered in recent memory: she was naturally sensitive to jet lag and needed to time her sleep exactly so that she could properly enjoy her vacation.

However, she still was recovering from the effect of the gummies when the driver had dropped her off at Rey’s snow-covered cottage. With sleep pressing on her eyelids she dragged her luggage over the icy cobblestone path to the door, heaving and huffing the entire time she did so. She dramatically shoved her suitcases in the door with a final exaggerated exhale.

Once she recovered and closed the door behind her, she took a brief moment to admire the house, ignoring the minor temptation to sleep. The house itself was quaint but all the while still retaining a high degree of character. There were exposed beams and brick everywhere with charming wood accented furniture to provide a profound rustic ambiance. It would put the houses she saw on Pinterest to absolute shame. Everything looked absolutely charming.

Especially the plush auburn leather couch and the enlarged throw blanket that was located perfectly in Rose’s purview. She immediately kicked off her Vans, hung her coat and scarf, lit a fire, and napped contently on the couch. 

Until a knock sounded at the door that immediately woke her up. 

She groaned and slowly opened her eyes before yelling, “Coming!”

She heard some mumbling on the other side of the door as she turned the knob.

When she opened the door, a redhead appeared in fully bundled winter regalia, all surprisingly black, with a woven basket of eggs. He seemed to look as surprised as she was but Rose wouldn’t have been able to tell beyond the slight grimace on his face.

“You are not Rey.”

“Uhm, no I am not,” she began, still keeping the door slightly closed, “Can I help you?”

The man’s piercing blue eyes still looked at her, analyzing her from head to toe. She normally would feel beyond uncomfortable with such treatment but something about his stare seemed reverent; like she was a lady to be honored rather than prey to be hunted. 

When he realized he was staring for too long, the man cleared his throat into his fist and responded. “My apologies, I was not expecting you.”

It was either something about the way he looked at her (or maybe the fact he was tall and had an accent) but something within Rose started to bloom like daisies in spring. She thought it might either be jet lag or the beginning of attraction.

Definitely jet lag. 

“No,” she finally responded with an awkward smile and laugh, “That’s understandable. Are you Rey’s brother?”

He shook his head, “Oh, lord, no, I’m her friend slash neighbor.” He abruptly yanked off his mitten and reached out a pale but firm hand for her to shake. “Where are my manners, I’m Armitage Hux. My mates call me Hux, though. I was just coming to drop off eggs for her from my chickens.”

Rose took his hand, feeling the instant warmth all the way up her arm. She smiled widely. “I’m Rose Tico. Rey and I swapped houses for the week.”

He laughed at her statement before letting go of her hand. “Just like her to leave for Christmas suddenly and not tell anyone. Where is she then?”

“Los Angeles.”

Hux whistled. “Sounds nice.”

Rose giggled at his dramatics. “It’s not too shabby. Weather’s alright, I’ve heard.”

He grinned. “Yeah, must be nice.”

They locked eyes and looked away shyly like they were high school lovers. 

“Say, Hux,” Rose asked, looking to bridge the awkwardness, “Is there anything to do here? I just arrived a few hours ago.”

“Oooh,” he muttered, sucking his teeth, “Tragically, nothing to do but breathe in the country air and get pissed drunk”

“Super,” Rose responded dryly.

There was a slight pause.

“Would you like a pint?”

“Absolutely,” she responded, dropping off the eggs in the kitchen and grabbing her scarf and coat before following him to the pub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **SW Notes:**   
>  [Klaud](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Klaud)


	3. preparation (part I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Just ask her how she is_ , he heard in his father’s voice, _Ask her for tea, water, anything!_
> 
> “Uhm, nice weather huh?” he asked.
> 
> For fucks sake, he was terrible at this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that New Years deadline, huh? 
> 
> Yeah I may have been a little ambitious for that one, oops! However, I come bearing good news, dear readers. I do have a trajectory to get this one finished by the end of January, which, barring no unforeseen circumstances, should be possible. 
> 
> Note on this chapter: its entirely Reylo as I let the word count get ahead of me and adding the section with Gingerrose would make the chapter like 6,000 words and would throw off the flow of the fic. Hence, why theres now an addition in the chapter count. 
> 
> That being said, enjoy <3

* * *

**Chapter 3: preparation (part I)**

The following morning, Ben, as planned, took an Uber back to Rose’s house to pick up the car. Normally, he would be more than happy to just hop in and drive it off, but something about Rey made him want to go knock on the door. Maybe it was his recent messy breakup with his longtime girlfriend (and Instagram model) Bazine Netal, but he decided to take a leap of faith and ring the doorbell. 

Rey opened the door within seconds, perhaps hinting that she was just as excited to see him. 

“Ben, hi,” she greeted breathlessly.

“Hey.”

There was a brief moment where Ben realized where he went wrong with his plan: what the **fuck** was he supposed to say to her? Just force himself over for tea? 

God, he was useless. Single for all of two weeks and he struggled on what to say to her. 

His father really would be ashamed of him. 

_ Just ask her how she is _ , he heard in his father’s voice, _A_ _ sk her for tea, water, anything! _

“Uhm, nice weather huh?” he asked.

For fucks sake, he was terrible at this.

At least she found it endearing, if her crystalline laugh was any indication. He flushed with embarrassment before registering the kind look in her eyes. 

“Yeah, I mean it is Los Angeles after all. It’d be pretty disappointing if it rained all day,” she replied sardonically. 

Ben chuckled, his nervousness slowly ebbing away. 

“Yeah, it would.”

Rey chuckled softly. There was a small awkwardness before she asked. “Would you like some coffee?”

Ben huffed with a small smile: she was much better at this than he was. All the charisma of the Solo-Skywalker line and he truly had nothing to show for it. 

“I would love that.”

* * *

After sitting down at Rose’s uncomfortably large kitchen table with their coffees, the conversation between Ben and Rey began to flow more naturally. She asked him small details such as his opinion on Starbucks and what the deal really was with football.

It’s an American treasure, he said on both accounts, which made her cringe. As if he’d never heard of rugby, which supplies a comparable amount of testosterone to football with an infinite amount more of dignity, or Caffe Nero, which makes  **way** better coffee that isn’t literally drowning in The Great Flood levels of sugar and its relevant substitutes. 

Rey booted up Rose’s fancy Nespresso machine and made coffees for them both as she continued to try and prove her point. Ben, being the esteemed lawyer he is, was not going to let the point go unless he gave it a good go. And so began their play argument, which then turned into casual flirting (as it should), which then led into lunchtime. 

Rey checked her phone, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry it’s already lunch isn't it?”

Ben finished the rest of his cold coffee. “Do you have plans for the day?”

She sighed. “No, I was just going to sink into the couch later and watch telly or something.”

He chuckled at her blatant (and rather adorable) Britishism. “Well, even though you’re terribly busy, would you like to go to lunch with me? I know a good spot like fifteen minutes away. I’ll make sure to make it quick so we can fit it into your schedule.”

Rey laughed again, this time with a slight shade of peony pink gracing her cheeks. Her eyes, if Ben wasn’t hallucinating, were glittering. 

“I would love that.”

After a nice hearty lunch at the local Mexican place Ben suggested, they returned to the house, chattering away on almost every small wonder she had seen of Los Angeles on their drive. The chemistry they naturally had with one another was something out of a storybook, Rey mused; she’d hardly have such good chemistry with her own friends (save for Hux). He made it very easy to talk to him: he seemed to have a natural charisma surrounding him that was nearly intoxicating - and she gorged herself on every bit of it. 

Rey opened the door and turned back to him, feeling almost instantly lonely. His brows quirked in the middle as his lips turned into a small frown. They were just about to say goodbye before Rey decided to take - yet again - another leap of faith. 

“Would you like another glass of wine? I would hate to drink a full bottle by myself.”

A small twinkle formed in his eyes. 

“I absolutely would.”

* * *

And then, for the second time that week, Rey and Ben were tipsy on Sonoma Valley Chardonnay talking about bigger things than just sports and coffee. 

In between sniggers and snorts, a verdant happiness began to trickle into their hearts. Rey wasn’t sure when the last time was that she felt so floaty. Maybe it was the last time she had Hux’s mulled wine before pregaming for the village Christmas market. 

No offense to Hux, but she felt that the current company made her feel even more ecstatic than the wine buzz made her feel. 

“I’m sorry again for crying yesterday,” she confessed, still tangentially mortified about the incident. 

Finishing the last of his glass, he responded, “Oh, don’t even worry about it. I know a thing or two about feeling passionate about work.”

She huffed. “Still, I’m slightly embarrassed.”

“Well, if I may ask, what is it about work that makes you feel so strongly about it?” he asked, refilling his glass.

She huffed defeatedly, almost as if she was under the gaze of an inquisitive therapist than her vacation paramour (Was he a paramour? Or like a love interest? Who was she to say). 

Ben, sensing her discomfort, provided her an out like a gentleman. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“No,” Rey responded in spite of her churning anxiety in her stomach, “No, I’d like to tell someone. I was thinking about it on the plane here, actually."  She began to fiddle with her hands as she struggled to find the right words. "I don’t know, I feel like it gives me value, like it reminds me that I’m alive, and creating an impact on others.”

Ben’s brow creased. A workaholic in his own right, he recognized her plight within himself, which of course made him nauseous to recognize. No one likes to recognize their own flaws in others. 

She continued with a nervous and broken laugh, maintaining her gaze on the carpet. “Without dampening the mood, I was abandoned at Angel Station in London as a child, and even though my adoptive mom was everything and made sure I had a great life, I never could let go of the idea I was nothing but trash to be discarded. So, making a name for myself reminds me I’m not, even for a brief moment.”

If he were a more emotionally transparent man, Ben would’ve cried at that revelation. Instead, his heart silently broke for this woman he met just yesterday who was as stunning as diamonds in the desert sun. How could she think she was anything less than extraordinary?

“I’m so sorry,” he replied, reaching out for her hand. “I can’t even imagine what that is like. But I think I understand where you come from.”

Her sad eyes twitched, conveying her need to understand more. “What do you mean?”

Now, it was Ben’s turn to be uncomfortable. “I can’t relate to your awful childhood, but I can understand wanting to create value for yourself.”

He groaned and laid back more into the couch, averting his eyes to the ceiling as he talked. “My parents really didn’t give me the time of day growing up,” he continued, persevering, “I was cast off in the face of my parents’ ambitions and work demands. I was practically raising myself for a long while, and was alone in more ways than I think I even realized. It wasn’t until they adopted Rose and Paige that we came together as a family more.”

He choked back the sad memories of frigid loneliness and continued. “So, I decided to channel that and make a name for myself, thinking if I could then maybe I would be seen as valuable to them. Funny thing is that I did-”

He turned his melancholy gaze towards Rey’s. 

“-but I feel even lonelier than I did before.”

Rey wistfully sighed. “Ben, that’s awful.”

He responded with a fleeting half-smile. “So, what I mean, is that you’re not alone Rey.”

She smiled, with unshed tears lining her lashes. “Neither are you.”

The moment hung on their stare and the sound of the world around them seemed to fade into nothing. 

Rey broke the moment with a slight cough.

“So, Ben Solo, no significant other to speak of?” Rey asked with a successfully undetected tone of disappointment. Her awkward shift in subject was palpable and noticable, but she wasn't one to beat around the bush. She certainly would hate it if she was seeing this as something it wasn’t.

Ben scoffed with a wry smile on his lips. “Speaking of feeling lonely. I did, but that ended two weeks ago.”

Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry, that’s awful.”

At the expense of committing a dating faux pas (Were they dating even?), he continued to illustrate the recent course of events.

Her sparkling eyes and soft smile made it so easy to talk to her. 

“Yeah, it was pretty rough.”

“Why did it end, if that isn’t rude to ask,” she asked politely. 

He huffed out a deep breath. “She told me that I wasn’t easy to date, which is funny since she found me easy to date before I stopped taking her out to nice places in Calabasas. Not to mention she accused me of being emotionally unavailable.”

“That’s so cruel to say to someone.”

“It is if there isn’t some truth to it.”

“Well,” she responded, “I’ve known you all of twenty-four hours and I think perhaps it was just a misconnection.”

The tiniest smile returned to the edges of his lips. “A misconnection?”

“Yeah, you know, like she didn’t fully get you. You’re a great guy, Ben, and anyone would be remiss to not choose you. Maybe she just didn’t want to get to know the real you?”

He should fire his therapist: what she told him in five seconds he hadn’t fully grasped in the weeks of the break-up. He looked properly gobsmacked as he registered just how much she hit the nail on the head. He turned to her. 

“I think that was it.” 

She chuckled. “I’m glad I could provide some insight for you.”

They cheered their glasses and drank a little bit more of the wine.

“I’d like to get better one day,” she confessed, feeling the effects of the Chardonnay. 

He looked at her confused.

“At what?”

“At relationships. I haven't really bothered too much with the job. They are so fucking hard but maybe I’ll work to get better at them and I won’t feel so lonely and dependent on work. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before,” she clarified, feeling belatedly disappointed in herself.

“Maybe you just needed the right motivation to figure out that you wanted to?” he offered. 

She looked at him like he suddenly told her the secrets of the universe. 

“Yeah,” she confessed, “Yeah I guess so.”

* * *

The afternoon then shifted into evening, and Ben, again, was hailing an Uber back to his place. 

“I guess this is where I say I’ll be back tomorrow to pick up the car,” he said with a grin. 

Rey, with a full wine flush in effect, giggled, holding onto her nearly empty glass with a strong grip. 

“I guess so.”

He turned to her, liquid courage thrumming in his veins. “Do you happen to have any plans for tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “I tragically don’t.”

He grinned a little bit more earnestly now, and Rey could’ve sworn she had never seen anything so beautiful. 

“How about I show you around town? It's Christmas Eve and it’d be a shame if you didn’t see what the City of Angels has to offer.”

She felt a small tinge of happiness so pure in her heart that she thought she might cry. She never really had anyone offer to spend their time with her so selflessly and she felt so cherished even in such a small way. She heard the Uber pull up to the gate of the house and, with a little bit of liquid courage in her veins, she stepped on her tippy toes and gave him a peck on his cheek. 

“I would love that.”

“Cool,” Ben uttered, dumbstruck by the affection, “Cool. See you tomorrow then.”

“Its a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No notes!
> 
> Harass me on Twitter and Tumblr!


	4. preparation (part II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> However, there was a moment of silence, before Hux because to speak with the support of liquid courage. 
> 
> “I did.”
> 
> Rose turned her head to him as they walked, seeing the downcast features of a man who she finally recognized as having left something precious behind in his past. Just like her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for the Gingerroses! We finally see some solid Hux/Rose action. 
> 
> Warning, there is a minor mention of combat-related death of minor characters along with some grief mention, so be advised. I added a few relevant tags, so please **read the tags** before reading. Also, as mentioned previously, Rose is adopted with Paige in this story, so that will be discussed briefly as well.
> 
> With those things in mind, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: preparation (part II)**

“So this is the local hotspot?” Rose remarked as she began to shuck off her jacket.

“Yep, you can find all the locals here for a pint any given day of the week, and on occasion, a good pub quiz,” Hux responded with a dry tone as he did the same. 

“Oh!” she said with somewhat genuine excitement, “That sounds like quite the party.”

Hux chuckled as he took both their jackets and hung them up on the coat rack. “I take it Los Angeles doesn’t have the same particular ambiance?”

She giggled, walking with him up to the bar. “Not really, no.”

“Well, that’s a real shame, you lot are all missing out,” he replied with a grin. “What would you like?”

“Uhm, I suppose I’ll take one of the local favorites?” 

“Ah, adventurous are we?”

Rose flushed and chuckled, shifting to look at the beer list on the chalkboard above the bar in an attempt to channel her embarrassment. “When in Rome, right?”

“Yes, indeed,” he replied, moving towards the bartender to order their drinks.

The pub Hux had taken Rose to had a quintessential British look to it. If she had to describe the interior design, she would have to say it was a very leather-based look with accents of worn wood. It was, as she’d imagine an LA girl to remark, very “worn sailor chic”. God knows there was probably a bit of an old ship on display around. Paige and Ben would say it just looks worn down and gross but Rose felt the innate warmth of the local drinking spot and allowed herself to embrace the buzz of the community around her. It was like the essence of a half-decent Old Spice commercial came out and inhabited a bar. 

Hux turned to her with a clear bubbly drink and a pint of beer in hand. “Let’s find a spot shall we?”

She nodded and followed him towards a clandestinely open corner booth and they both sat down. 

“What is this?” she asked as she settled, placing her lips on the edge of the glass. 

“A gin and tonic,” he replied, taking a sip of his beer, “It’s a British classic and it would be a sin to deprive you of such a wonder.”

She giggled and then took a sip. “I feel like this is just colonialism in a drink.”

Hux barked out a laugh. “Probably a fair assessment.”

She met his shockingly blue eyes, taking in stock of the moment. This was the least she anticipated from her radical impromptu holiday trip: sharing a drink with a handsome British stranger who just happened to be her neighbor for a week. On top of all of that, they were having easy conversation and genuine chemistry. 

All of it put 2000s rom coms to shame.

Time went on and the amount of beers and G&Ts rose, but the conversation between them flowed like the Thames. During that time, they learned a lot about one another. For one, Rose learned that Hux was former military: he served in Afghanistan as part of the Royal Marines.

“Is it anything like the American Marines?” she asked, innocently.

“Think Navy SEALs.”

“Woah. Sounds pretty intense.”

He let out a deep chuckle. “Definitely was that.”

She didn’t think too hard about what the physique of a former Royal Marine might look like under his sweater. She continued to sip her drink as he continued about his service, and asked a little bit more about her.

“What’s your family like then?”

“We're a crazy bunch, really. My sister and I were adopted by an American family when our parents died in Vietnam. They’re really great, and took care of Paige - that’s my sister - and I like we were their own. My brother Ben especially looked after both Paige and I like a great older brother growing up. Even though we’re all super close, Paige and I always stuck together.”

Hux smirked as he took a sip of his beer. “Like two peas in a pod?”

She nodded, thinking about the childhood memories of her and Paige sharing all their secrets and enjoying the magic of their sisterhood. She particularly remembered all the times she helped her get ready for school dances with Leia or when they would just run to Taco Bell and In-n-out, just the two of them.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“And are you still close?”

Rose averted her eyes and stared at her thumb rubbing alongside her drink glass. 

“Yeah, we were, but she got married and moved to Michigan a bit ago. We still talk, you know, but it's not the same. It feels kinda...” she said, drifting off.

“Lonely?” Hux supplied, meeting her halfway. 

She looked up at him, noticing how his bright blue eyes seemed to crease like they understood the isolation she had been feeling the last few months. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” she replied, realizing truly how lonely she had been recently. 

“And no significant other to keep you company?” he asked. “If its not too rude to ask.”

She sadly smiled. “There was. It was why I left actually.”

“Oh,” he replied, mirroring the sad mood, “Heartbreak?”

“More like infidelity.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hux responded with such earnest sympathy. 

“It’s alright,” she said, taking a swig of her drink, “There wasn’t much love there, so it doesn’t sting as much.”

He kept silent, seemingly watching her every move. “No love?”

She shook her head. “Never has been, for me. Well, that sounds dramatic - there’s never been  _ real _ love, you know?”

He nodded. “I know all too well.”

“No lady love in your life?” she teased.

He smiled a little bit, seeing the life come back into her voice. “No, unfortunately.”

“So you’re just like me, then?” she remarked, feeling a rise in tension between the two of them within the bond of a shared connection. It was as if they were truly seeing one another for the first time that day, their very souls exposed to the musty air of the small country pub. 

His eyes slightly widened. “Yes, I suppose so.”

The drinks kept coming, and the conversation shifted to less important things until about closing time. They laughed and giggled while they got their coats, Hux insisting that he put hers on for her. 

“Its the gentlemanly thing to do.”

“Of course, my dear sir,” she teased, dramatically bowing down and mimicking a tip of a cap. He laughed earnestly, and Rose thought that maybe it was possible to get high on the sound of someone’s laugh. 

They walked together arm and arm, the cold winter air doing a fair job of sobering them up. 

“I never asked, did you make a lot of friends in the military?” Rose asked, seemingly to try and extend the fun ambiance of the night. 

However, there was a moment of silence, before Hux because to speak with the support of liquid courage. 

“I did.”

Rose turned her head to him as they walked, seeing the downcast features of a man who she finally recognized as having left something precious behind in his past. Just like her.

“I had two,” he continued, “Mitaka and Phasma. We were all friends since boot camp. We were stationed together, and spent some our darkest days together. War isn’t like what they say - its so much worse.”

Rose stayed silent, still watching him, silently urging him to continue. 

“Phasma, especially, I was close to. We were sleeping together, actually. It wasn’t love, but, it was something. One day, there was a patrol-”

He adjusted the collar on his jacket. 

“-I wasn’t with them. I was stationed back at base, doing some of the rounds with the new recruits.”  Rose held her breath. She knew where this was going, somehow. 

“When I was making the rounds, I heard a huge blast on the path not too far from base. I turned and saw this, I don’t even know, _inferno_ around one of our vehicles. And I knew they were gone.”

He didn’t need to finish. “I’m so sorry.”

A single tear fled down his cheeks from his icy eyes. “The worst part was that I felt like something died in me with them that night. They understood me like no one else did, and I miss being able to feel that way. I haven't been able to let anyone in.”

The tears came down his face faster. He tried his best to pat them away discreetly, but Rose took her cold freezing fingers and wiped them away. They stopped in the path, just a stone’s throw away from the cottages, ignoring the winter winds around them. 

Rose, long thinking her heart was shut off from feeling compassion at the risk of being hurt herself, could not bear the idea of leaving this man whose soul was just like hers alone in the night. She wanted,  _ almost scarily needed _ , to take care of him. Maybe, if she did, she would feel like someone might take care of her, too, like she so desperately wanted.

“Let me walk you home.” she said, holding her hand to his cheek.

“You don’t have to," he responded, a tortured look in his eyes, "I can get back alright."

“I insist,” she said, moving her hand to his arm and gently squeezed his bicep. “Come on.”

When they walked into Hux’s village cottage, she walked with him to the kitchen and sat him down on the table. She took out his kettle, preparing to make tea like her mother always did. It alway made her feel better when she was a kid, and she still remembered the smell of peppermint tea and honey from her childhood. Leia would always put in some lemon and honey, because she was 'just as beautiful as a rose and as sweet as honey'.

“I’m sorry I ruined your vacation,” Hux confessed, rubbing his face aggressively, trying to get the evidence of dry tears off his face. “You don’t need to take care of a crying mess.”

“You’re not a mess,” she replied with a smile, taking a risk and putting her hand on his cheek, “You’re just human, that’s all.” 

In a moment of reprieve, Hux sunk into the comfort of her kindness. If he was a more transparent man, he would’ve broken down right there. All these years he carried the good portion of the burden of that memory and its grief all on its own. Even Rey, his supposed best friend, didn’t know every detail about it, respecting his emotional boundary. While he didn’t regret that, he did enjoy the ability to lower his guard. 

Rose pulled away from him as the kettle sounded, a loud whistle echoing off the walls of the small kitchen. She prepped and placed the tea on the table, in particular a cup of Earl Grey towards Hux.

He smiled, fractured at all the lines, and put his hand on hers on the cup. “Thank you.” 

She warmly smiled back. “There’s nothing to thank me for. You deserve support and kindness.”

“As do you,” he replied, not missing a beat and still grasping her hand. "You deserve it all, Rose." 

Her face relaxed and her smile went slack jawed at the remark. The two of them stared into each other’s eyes, holding the visage of each other’s vulnerability, and slowly, Hux moved closer to Rose’s face, and she met him halfway at his lips. 

Moments later, the sound of their kisses echoed in the kitchen, and then a gruff grunt as Hux picked Rose up, holding her up around the thighs circled around his waist, and took her to his bed.

There was absolutely no protest from her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: my friend's ex-boyfriend is part of the Royal Marines and man oh man it sounds brutal. I may have fudged a little bit of the facts because Im not super knowledgable about military happenings, but Hux being part of that military wing was inspired by my friend <3 I miss her dearly. 
> 
> Harass me on Twitter and Tumblr!


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